Brady Quinn — whether he or the Broncos know it or admit it — is in the middle of a heated quarterback competition.[2] But he’s got one big advantage over Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow.

His background is jammed with Josh McDaniels’ playbook. From Notre Dame (Charlie Weis) to Cleveland (Eric Mangini) to Denver (McDaniels), his offensive know-how keeps harking back to New England. The degrees of separation are near and dear.